Improvement in mail-bags



E. W. ROBERTS.

MAIL-BAG.

No.176,354, Patented April 18, 1876.

0 O O O O O O o O O O O O O SARATOGA,

01' 17mm o o o o O O Q 0 O O O O O WITNESSES ".PETERE. PNOTO-UTMOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON U C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIcE.

E. WALTER ROBERTS, OF TROY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF PART HIS RIGHT TO ERSKINE SCHULTZ, EDWIN W. BUR-RAGE, AND MARTIN RUSSELL, OF SAME PLACE, AND SAID SCHULTZ AND BURRAGE ASSIGNORS TO FRANK MADDOOK, OF PENNINGTON, NEW JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN MAIL-BAGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 176,354, dated April 18, 1876 application filed December 17, 1873.

To all whom it may concern chain formed of flat links having tongues or bolts, increasing in length seriatim, and which is provided with a terminal extension.

, In the accompanying drawing, Figure l is a side elevation of the top portion of a mailbag provided with my improved lock. Fig. 2 shows a plan of the locking-chain and the lock, with its outer plate attached; Fig. 3, a vertical section of the bag with the flap or mouth unlocked and open.

A indicates the body of the mail-bag; B, the flap thereof; 0, the locking-chain D, the pull-piece attached thereto, and E the lock proper. One side, a, of the bag, Fig. 3, is extended and turned back, or doubled on itself, to form the flap l, in which is the channel or pocket for receiving chain 0, while the other part; b, of said bag is provided with the usual form of staples, c. When the flap B is closed, Fig. 1, the staples project through eyeleted openings therein, and the lock is formed by drawing the chain 0 to the right till all the bolts 6 e, &c., of the several links f have entered their respective staples 0. These bolts of the several chain-links all point from the lock and toward the pull D, as well as gradually increase in length from left to right, in order that the first bolt, 0', next to the pull D, may enter its staple before the second one,

6, the second, 6, before the third, 0, and so on through the series, thereby avoiding the difficulty experienced with the ordinary bag-lock, in forcing the bolts simultaneously into their staples. The pull D, before referred to, is a leather strap, which terminates the chain 0, Fig. 2, and is made of such length that it will project from the pocket in the flap B far enough to admit of its being grasped by the hand, to draw the chain 0 to the right, and thus lock the bag. It is connected to the chain loosely, and, when the bag is closed, these yield when any attempt is made to push back the bolts 0 e e e from that end of the chain. The pull, therefore, forms an indispensable adjunct of the chain, in that it is requisite to effect the locking operation.

The lock proper, E, is of a well-known pattern, being provided with a sliding bolt, h, and a series of spring pins or tumblers, i, operated by a serrated key, It. The bolt h is provided with a stud, n, to hold a card, I, in a case formed on the face of the lock.

I am aware it is not new to provide a mailbag with a locking-chain composed of links whose bolts lie in the same direction, nor to provide the locking-bar of a. traveling-bag or valise with tongues of difl'erent lengths, so that when the bag is being locked, one may engage its keeper before the other; but

I claim The combination with the mail-bag, having staples and a folding flap, B, of a chain, 0, formed of links having bolts graduated in length from left to right, and the flexible pull D, attached to said chain, and a lock, E, as shown and described, to operate as specified.

E. WALTER ROBERTS. Witnesses:

R. R. ROBBINS, J osmn WATSON. 

